President Donald Trump's new tax plan just dealt a blow to many would-be homeowners. The 429-page GOP tax plan, called the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" was revealed on Thursday and is being billed as a boon for hard-working middle class Americans.

The tax plan proposed by Congressional Republicans will likely decimate production of new affordable rental housing, even as housing shortages across the country are driving rents higher and taking ever-larger shares of Americans' incomes.

Senate Republicans, who are set to unveil their sweeping tax rewrite today, plan to keep the mortgage interest deduction intact, a significant win for realtors and a deviation from the House bill under consideration.

To pass their immense tax giveaway to the rich, Republicans need to ensure their plan would add no more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. To do so, they're cutting billions of dollars in tax benefits to people trying to raise children, pay for college, buy a home or invest in renewable energy.

As employment and home prices reach and surpass previous levels of normal economic and housing activity, building permits continued holding markets back from hitting historic norms during the third quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders. (Subscription may be required.)

Rising homeownership is adding to the jitters in the residential rental market, which has slumped recently after a long stretch near the top of the commercial real-estate industry. (Subscription may be required.)

Fannie Mae helps borrowers buy homes. Soon it might help build them too. The mortgage-finance giant is considering a series of pilot programs to address an issue that has plagued the U.S. real-estate market for years: a lack of affordable homes. Fannie's first initiative, which hasn't been finalized, would potentially make it cheaper and simpler for prospective homebuyers to get loans to construct new residences.

For most of his life, Marrio Pearson gave little thought to being a homeowner. If the 45-year-old U.S. Army veteran thought about it at all, he found plenty of reasons it was a bad idea. He thought he was too old to buy a house. He wasn't sure he would stay in Washington. He might take a job elsewhere. He figured being single made it too difficult.

When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized its mortgage underwriting rule in 2013, it granted government-backed loans an exemption. Years later, the government-backed market appears to be enjoying the benefits, sparking a debate about whether the exemption should remain. (Subscription may be required.)

As part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) "Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses" rule, certain employers in high-risk industries like construction, manufacturing and building materials must submit electronically their 2016 injury and illness data from OSHA Form 300A by Dec. 1.